Projection.

Alice jumped from the grate and landed with a clank on the metal floor in the large room. Smashed tea cups and tea spots lay strewn on the floor. Broken machinery parts stashed in the corner, along with food and bits of fuzz stuck to it. She glanced around, Vorpal blade in hand.

It took awhile to navigate the Hatter's Domain, it was familiar in some parts, rooms changed, halls looked skewered, her mind had a habit of changing things.

She wrinkled her nose at the feel of hot steam that made sweat glide along her skin, dampening her clothing. The smell of coffee was thick in the air. Several of the trapped Dodo's got out, the ones that were left behind were skinned and draped over fire pits or hung on the walls like morbid decorations.

The Mad Caps stalked the halls with their broken armor, holding sharpened forks, spoons and knives. From the hall she came upon, they seemed to be guarding the one that lead straight to the Mad Hatter's room. She could easily kill all the Mad Caps, but decided to locate a grate and crawl through its thick hot grates and sneak past the foul green things.

Standing in his empty room. It was silent and eerie. She scoffed as she walked over to the door that lead out, but stopped when she heard the sound of someone laughing. She turned and faced the Cheshire cat. His smirk stretched across his thin malnourished face.

"Where is he, Cat?" She asked, quickly losing her patience.

"The last you saw him, he died with two of his friends, but now you've returned, where would he be. Mumbling incoherent rhymes, just for you Alice. Word of advice once you find him, be careful." The Cat disappeared and Alice pulled the metal door open, the rusted hinges groaned as she slipped through and into the dark hall.

Her brows furrowed, noticing it was empty. "Wasn't there Mad Caps here?" She held firmly to the Vorpal Blade in case one of them decided to jump out of the darkness. A rumble came from the distance, then a pulse wave went through the hall, knocking Alice off her feet as it passed her.

She looked around, getting to her feet as another wave hit her, but this time she grabbed the wall and held on. A groan escaped her lips as she hurried down the hall. The walls coming from the Mad Hatter's room were distorting, the metal pushing inwards as if it to engulf her.

She skidded around a corner and noticed a door down the hall. It was different in design to the Mad Hatter's domain and for some reason, it looked familiar. She had no time to think of where she seen it and bolted down the hall and grabbed the knob, the door was stuck, she glanced back, teeth gritted as the walls smashed together. She turned it and pushed the door open with all her might and fell forward.

A pained moan escaped her lips as she looked back at the door. It was closed shut, she panted and lifted herself up off the hardwood floor. Alice scanned the room, it was dark and silent, but she couldn't help the choking recognition. Papers strewn on the tables and desks, a camera sat to the side, bookshelves and a lit fireplace. Her entire body stiffened, her heart raged in her chest. She caught movement and noticed the black cat sitting on the table, its eyes fixed on her.

"Mom.. Dad!" She heard a voice yelling from upstairs and Alice realized it was hers, then everything was on fire. She felt the heat, the burn on her skin and the cries of her younger self, she heard the window smashing and when Alice looked out the window, she saw a silhouette outside, lying crumpled like a broken doll.

Alice knew this was a memory. A broken, shattered memory and it shouldn't be here, she was over the fire, she got revenge for her family. She shouldn't be affected by this anymore. The fire licked at her dress and began setting it alight. She scrambled away and looked for the cat that was in the room, but it was no longer there.

A memory of her older sister flashed in her mind. Beautiful Elizabeth, trapped inside her room. Alice ran for the stairs, the smoke burned her eyes, but she made it to the second floor. Her parents screams never ended as she hurried to her sister's room. She gripped the doorknob, yelping at the hot pain scalding her hands, clenching her teeth, tears streamed down her face as she tried again to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.

The fire surrounded her and a terrifying scream tore itself from her throat and everything went black. Her body felt light as she fell to the floor. The Vorpal Blade clattered beside her. The room distorted and changed, the memory fell and Alice appeared on a metal table in the Mad Hatter's laboratory.

Her body twitched and fidgeted from the pain of reliving the memory. A tear fell from her eye and trailed along her cheek as she whimpered, "Lizzie.."

A figure strolled through the doors, wearing a burned white coat and pants, his skin inflicted by harsh burns. His creamy white eyes stared down at Alice's unconscious form, he brushed away her dark hair from her face and remarked her own burns that healed long ago.

He witnessed the memory and felt her pain. She was so similar, it was uncanny. She survived something that should've killed her, she lost her parents and her older sister. She suffered neglect from the people who were supposed to care for her, just like he did. Yet she went inside her mind to find comfort, he had to use other means, but they both still suffered from the memory of fire.

Her scream echoed in his head from when the fire surrounded her and engulfed her. He watched when she tried saving her sister, even though she knew her sister was already dead. She still tried to save her.

He looked down at the blade she was holding, it lay on the floor with blood splattered on the hilt. He picked it up and placed it on the counter, away from her as he strapped her down. She'll be hysterical when she wakes and he didn't want her until she told him where Leslie was.

It was harder to navigate inside this mind, it wasn't his. The creatures were distorted by childish imagination and the girl seemed to be a psychopath in some means, but she did have morality, unlike himself.

"I've seen you've made fine work with locating Alice," A voice spoke from across from him. A gangly cat appeared on the counter, grinning wide at him. There were tribal markings along its dark form, its skeleton pushed against the layer of skin, piercings glinted in the light.

"Where's Leslie?" he demanded.

"White Rabbit has him, leading him away from Mad Hatter's Domain. Might be heading to the Caterpillar, once he has him, you won't be getting him back. Unless you ask the Queen for help," the Cat said, his teeth were stained with blood as it jumped from the counter and sat on top of Alice's chest. "Alice is precious to Wonderland, you can't kill her... it won't let you."

"I'm not going too. Leslie entered this mind, once I have him, we'll leave. For now, Alice must stay here, with me." The man walked over to the counter and looked at the knife. "Where is this Queen?"

"In Queensland, I can lead you there," the Cat said, "but I have to warn you, the Queen doesn't take kind to trespassers."

"Take me to her."

The Cat nodded, "Follow me."

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